There are a multitude of education options for aspiring fitness trainers. Personal trainer courses can take you anywhere from two days to two years to complete. We help you answer the question, “which is the best personal trainer certificate?” in this write-up, but that’s not what this blog is about.

But time and time again, the story goes like this: Five years into the gym game, the gym owner is overworked and burnt out and is barely able to make a profit. Not only that, he can’t seem to retain his clients or his coaches because neither party is getting what they need: The client needs a professional coach and an individualized fitness program and the coach needs job fulfillment and a professional wage.

If you knew nothing about what a deadlift was and your only guidance to learning how to do one was to read about it in a textbook, you might be able to pick up the basic idea of the movement, but it would probably be tough to become a deadlift master.

One of the biggest mistakes we see coaches make is focusing on the short-term only. Writing quality programs isn’t just about today’s workout—you have to be able to see the future and understand how training today will equal results a year from now. You have to first zoom out and consider where the program you’re writing sits inside of a long-term plan. 

If you want to become an engineer, you know it’s going to take four years of college or university and thousands of dollars. Same if it’s a doctor you’re striving to be, although in that case, it’s closer to seven years.

Remember, we’ve discussed this in the past that you can’t just hire somebody who’s not going to serve a direct purpose. You need to make sure you first get the right person for the right role. Let’s assume it’s a coach, you need to know what you need them for.

First, let’s talk about weight lifting and why it is the best method for weight loss. When we say weight lifting we are referring to resistance training: performing muscle contractions with resistance. 

With the announcement of what the first workout will be only hours away, we thought we’d ask some of our veteran CrossFit coaches of what they think the workout may be.

The fitness industry is competitive. To stand out as a personal trainer or fitness coach you have to be dedicated to continuous education. That’s why coaches like our founder, James FitzGerald, are avid readers.

The three dimensions are also referred to as planes of motion. To create effective exercise programs, you have to understand these three planes. So with that in mind, here are the three planes of motion and how to design exercise programs that incorporate them.

At OPEX Fitness, we believe the best type of periodization depends on the client and their goals. To emphasize this, we will look at undulating periodization, it’s pros and cons, and the best time to use it.At OPEX Fitness, we believe the best type of periodization depends on the client and their goals. To emphasize this, we will look at undulating periodization, it’s pros and cons, and the best time to use it.

If you have coached for any period of time, you probably agree getting clients to commit to the training in the gym is the easy part. After all, it only consumes just one hour of their day three to five days a weak. It’s the other 23 hours of the day—where even bigger changes need to be made—that’s the real challenge. 

COVID-19 and the requirement for social distancing have rapidly changed the daily behaviors of people around the world. This extends to all aspects of people’s lives, including the way they work out.

Short for total daily energy expenditure, TDEE is the number of calories one burns in a day. This number is important to know as it gives one a baseline to compare current consumption to and then adjust as needed depending on goals.

Whether you’re new to fitness or a fitness coach, this blog will teach you how many exercises you should do in a workout, plus the specific types of exercises.

However, growing the chest is tough. To achieve this, workouts need to be specifically designed for hypertrophy. This blog will show you how to create a hypertrophy chest workout progression, the best exercises to use, and include sample training programs, helping you and your clients achieve their physique goals.

Before embarking on any journey you need a plan, a direction to guide you to the destination. A fitness journey is no different, you need a plan. Whether you want to hike into your 90s or squat double your bodyweight you need to plan out how you will achieve these goals.

According to Concept2 it is the best-selling indoor rower in the world (not to mention a staple in most functional fitness gyms) and is recognized by competitive rowers as the standard for indoor training.  

Why is this important? Professional fitness coaches not only recognize the differences between relative and absolute strength, but they are also able to utilize these concepts in tangible ways to improve their client’s fitness in relation to their unique strength goals.

When he first started coaching, Samaniego, an OPEX CCP coach, admits he wasn’t sure it would ever be possible to become a professional career coach, but 15 years later he’s an individual design remote coach with two coaches working for him, a career he said: “provides me financial stability and fulfillment.”